


Never Knew You

by krispy_kream



Category: Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 05:13:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2839313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krispy_kream/pseuds/krispy_kream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A friendship was forged only to be lost in more ways than Edea had thought possible. (Edea and Alternis growing up together.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Knew You

**Author's Note:**

> Written while slacking off at work. Typos and cannon inaccuracies be damned.  
> For clarities sake:  
> The term Asterisk is being used more like a title, and the holder of the Asterisk is considered something of the pinnacle or leader of a specific job. Anyone can learn the role, but the Asterisk item itself grants the more super human abilities of the job, for example “Super High Jump” for Valkyries as opposed to “High Jump” which anyone can learn.  
> Asterisks can be passed down voluntarily or taken by force with the exception of the Dark Knight Asterisk, which must be taken by force.

Edea’s life was nothing if not well structured. Everything had its place and everything made sense. Edea’s father was proud and strong and he was too important to have time for anybody. Edea’s mother was kind and calm and Edea was the only one permitted to see her at any time of day or night. Master Kamiizumi was the only one important enough to talk to them as much as Edea. Edea and Einheria were going to be the greatest warriors in the realm. Eternia was the most important country ever. Edea would one day take up her father’s mantel. And, perhaps most importantly, Edea was an only child.

Which would explain Edea’s current confusion at the boy who had just been ushered in by her father. Her father had a gentle grip on the boy’s shoulders and he smiled down on him softly. Her mother had been permitted to leave the hospital to help welcome him into the home. The boy could have been no older than Edea herself but he was dirty, his clothes were a wreck, his hair looked like an old mop and his eyes were haggard and blank. And perhaps what was the most mortifying was her father’s explanation.

“Edea, this young man has suffered at the hands of the Crystalists, much like we have. I feel it only right we welcome him into our home to atone for letting this tragedy befall him. I have no doubt that, with your guidance as a sister, he will grow into an upstanding gentleman worthy of the Lee name.”

Edea stared, her mouth agape. She almost protested, but she had learned quickly what her father thought of people who disagreed with him. As it was, her hesitation did not escape his notice.

“Edea, dear, it’s not polite to stare,” her mother said, her voice calm and soothing where her father’s would have been curt. “Now close your mouth and greet him properly, just as I’ve taught you.”

Edea’s mouth snapped shut. She clenched her jaw to keep from speaking out of turn but she couldn’t help but continue to stare indignantly at the boy. It didn’t even seem like he was looking at her! After only a moment, more hesitation her father would not miss, Edea raised her arms out to the side, bent her knees and dipped her head. A close approximation to the curtsey her mother had been teaching her. When she looked up, she tried very hard not to frown.

“I’m Edea Lee. What’s your name?”

The boy didn’t answer. He stood so still, Edea thought perhaps he was hypnotized.

Her father patted the boy on the shoulder. “We’ve decided on the name Alternis. Alternis, in honor of his new life here in Eternia. Come, child, we’ll have you cleaned up properly.”

Her father steered Alternis through the room and out towards the hallway. Her mother stayed behind and knelt down so she could be eye level with Edea.

“Darling, I know this is a bit of a shock, but what Alternis needs right now is kindness. Can I count on your help to get him back on his feet?”

Edea gripped the hem of her short smock dress in tight fists and her lower lip quivered. “He’s come to take my place, hasn’t he? He’s going to grow up to protect Eternia instead of me, isn’t he?” she asked, her voice descending into a shrill whine the likes only her mother would tolerate.

She shushed her softly and patted her head. “No one could ever replace you, Edea. Your father wants Alternis to grow into someone who will protect you, to keep you safe while you protect Eternia. That’s why it’s so important to us that the two of you get along. Now, can I count on you?”

Edea whimpered, but warriors didn’t cry. She could hear her father’s voice in her mind, reminding her that Eternia needed a warrior to keep her people safe. She scrubbed her eyes against her arm and sniffed loudly to hold the tears back. When she brought her arm down her eyes were still red, but they were dry. She nodded, mumbling a strangled “Uh-huh.”

Her mother smiled brightly. “That’s my little sky night.”

* * *

Even cleaned up, Alternis was too skinny to fit properly into any clothes they brought for him and his eyes still looked like he had dirt smudged all around them. His hair still looked awkward too; none of the maids could decide on what to do with it yet. Alternis himself didn’t do much of anything. He often just sat in some room or the courtyard, depending on where people lead him. They brought him to the sitting room the most often. Someone had mentioned that he wasn’t actually from Eternia so the sudden change in temperature could be hard on his already weak body. In the sitting room they could build a fire for him and he often sat in one of the armchairs in front of the hearth, either staring into the flames or down at his rough, scratched up hands.

Edea peeked into the sitting room from the door that led to the courtyard. Her tutor had suggested she practice her reading, but with the light snowfall beginning to come down, she couldn’t practice outside or her book would be ruined. She had wanted to put off reading and play swords with Einheria, but she had just been admitted to join the Junior Sky Nights and so wasn’t around as much. Edea still had three years before they would let her train with them. Still, she was bored, reading was boring and now her friends weren’t around to help her goof off. The only one around was Alternis and he hardly counted. But every time she avoided him she could hear her mother’s voice reminding her that Alternis needed kindness. Well, kindness was boring too. Now she had two boring things to do and no one to give her the excuse not to do it.

She tiptoed into the sitting room and slowly closed the door behind her. The hinge still creaked and the latch still snapped so her entrance was less than stealthy. Alternis didn’t pay the noise any mind. He never did. Edea made her way slowly to the hearth, as if at any moment Alternis would turn and attack her, maybe even swallow her up. She still felt the sliver of paranoia that he had come to replace her. Even if her parents didn’t think so, how could any of them know what he was planning when he never spoke? But Alternis didn’t acknowledge her approached just as he hadn’t acknowledged the door closing behind her.

“Hey,” she finally said when she came to stand beside his chair. When he didn’t respond, Edea walked up to the chair and put her hands on the plush arm rest. “Hey,” she said again, louder this time.

Alternis looked up, his brows furrowed. He still didn’t speak, but at least he was looking at her now.

“I’m bored so I came in here,” she said as an answer to the question he didn’t ask. “What are you doing?”

Alternis shrank in his seat. He didn’t even open his mouth to try to answer, his brow just furrowed deeper as if he was scared of her. Edea stared at him as she waited for his answer, but when none was forthcoming she frowned.

“Do you even speak?” she asked loudly. Her voice was the volume of a six year old that wanted something and was not used to being denied.

Alternis’ eyes shifted back and forth, then back up at Edea. Again, he kept his mouth shut and he remained slightly slouched in the chair, but he did nod. At least it was an answer. Edea smiled at him at last.

“Can you read too?” she asked. “I’m still learning, but I think it’s pretty boring. Maybe I just need practice so I can be as good as Mom, she’s great at it!”

Alternis shook his head. Edea noticed that his brow was no longer furrowed and he was looking up at her with wide, almost bewildered eyes.

Edea let go of the arm of the chair at last and pulled out the story book she was supposed to be practicing with. “I didn’t think so. It’s a wonder anyone bothers.” She looked down at the book in her hands, then up at Alternis. “I wonder if listening is more fun. When Mom reads to me it’s the best. Maybe it’s like why performers learn to sing so they can entertain people. I don’t think singing is all that fun either, but Mom really likes listening.” She sat on the floor with her legs crossed and opened the book across her lap. “Hey, let’s try something. I’ll read and you tell me if it’s any fun to listen.” She started flipping the pages to find where her tutor had left off. “This story is about these cats who… Actually, I’ll start at the beginning for you.” She turned the pages back. “You won’t know if it’s any fun if you don’t know what’s going on.”

She took a deep breath and looked at the words on the page. They still mostly looked like gibberish, but when she sounded out the words like her tutors told her to, they sounded like actual words. So she started slowly, the first few words familiar enough from repetition. “Once, upon, a, time…. There, was, a… fuh… fam, mi, family, who…” She stumbled through the words as she always did. She may have heard this part of the story earlier, but she didn’t actually remember how it went and so she had to struggle with the words all over again.

Slowly, silently, Alternis slipped out of the chair and walked on his knees to where Edea sat in front of the fire.  He hesitated for a moment while Edea continued to read, too focused on the words to notice his approach, but he eventually sat beside her and crossed his legs as she had. She looked up quickly when their shoulders bumped.

“You should look too,” she said when her surprise had subsided. “They’ll probably make you learn this too, you better get used to the letters now.”

Alternis nodded and looked down at the page to where Edea was pointing at the next word she was trying to sound out. He bobbed his head in time with hers as she thought, first mouthing the words after she said them, then breathing them in a tiny whisper that Edea could hardly hear. When Edea reached a word she couldn’t sound out so easily, she threw her head back and whined. Alternis looked at her and put his hand by her arm, barely touching her. She looked back, frustration welling within her, to tell him she was giving up. She stopped herself as she looked at his expression, his eyes alive for the first time that she had ever seen. She sighed loudly and turned back to the book to try again. When she figured it out, Alternis whispered it back just as he had all the other words.

Edea didn’t know how long she Alternis sat in front of the fire reading. She had already caught up to where the tutor left off, but Alternis was still enthralled. As they had read, his reservations about interacting with her had apparently vanished. He leaned his shoulder against her and his finger trailed close behind her on the page. He stared intently at the letters, breathing the words as Edea read them. Edea wasn’t sure she comprehended what was going on in the story anymore after being so focused on reading each word individually and she doubted Alternis was really following it either. The fire had slowly died down to hot embers when someone finally came in to the sitting room. Edea and Alternis both spun around to see who had entered.

“Oh, Edea, there you are,” the maid said. She bustled into the room, most of her skirts gathered into her arms. “We have to get you cleaned up for dinner, the Grand Marshal will be joining us with his council members.”

Edea closed the book and scrambled to her feet. The maid held out a hand so that she could usher her away by the shoulder. When they reached the door Edea turned back, realizing that Alternis was not following. She stopped even as the maid did her best to pull her along and out into the corridor.

“Alternis, aren’t you coming?” She called.

Alternis, who had slumped his shoulders when Edea had closed the book, immediately perked up and looked at her with large eyes.

“Little miss, with the council there…” The maid tried to say, still urging Edea to leave.

Edea pulled herself out of the maid’s grip and stomped her tiny foot. “If Father is expecting me, he’ll be expecting both of us,” she said to the maid. Then she turned to Alternis and held out her hand. “Come on, you can sit next to me.”

It took him a moment, but Alternis also scrambled to his feet much like Edea had. He ran to the door to meet them, but paused before taking Edea’s hand.

The maid threw her hands up and led them out into the corridor. “If you must! The Grand Marshall will just have to do what he sees fit.”

They followed her down the hall hand in hand. Alternis’ fingers were slack, but Edea kept a hold of them and swung their arms with each step.

“Edea…” Alternis suddenly whispered. His voice was raspy and cracked from disuse, but he spoke with more purpose than when he had been whispering the words back to her.

Edea looked at him, her brow high.

“Let’s read together again.”

Edea beamed. She started to skip, swinging her arms in larger motions and Alternis stumbled to keep up.

* * *

Now that Alternis had begun speaking to her, Edea took it upon herself to begin grooming him into the role her mother had claimed he was meant for. Not that she knew anything about grooming anybody. Edea was sure she could figure it out.

They were standing outside in the snowy courtyard, too large boots on their feet and wooden swords in hand, standing at opposite ends of the small garden. Alternis held his sword with both hands, letting the tip scrape across the snow beneath his feet. He looked at it uncertainly, then back up at Edea.

“Edea…” he said weakly, his voice still rough around the edges.

“Oh hush,” Edea said. It was her new favorite phrase to borrow from her mother now that she had placed herself in charge of someone. She pointed her wooden sword at Alternis. “If you’re going to start protecting me, you have to get better at fighting than me first. Right now, the only person who can beat me is Einheria, so you have a lot of catching up to do.”

“But the Grand Marshall wants me to study first…” he tried. He even sounded like he knew Edea wasn’t going to listen to him.

“You already studied, this is free time. And I’m going to have you practice in your free time,” Edea reasoned.

Alternis groaned.

“Guard up, Alternis!” Edea shouted as she rushed at him suddenly, her wooden blade drawn back in preparation to strike.

Alternis yelped and dropped his sword.

Edea tackled him to the ground. She pushed her torso up with her hands on his shoulders, keeping him pinned into the snow. His white blonde hair, still kept like a messy mop, blended in with the snow underneath him.

“What was that!” She shouted at him. “You can’t protect me if you drop your sword!”

“I can’t protect you if I fight you!” he shot back.

Edea paused at this. She sat back, sitting up on top of Alternis’ stomach and frowned while she thought about it.

“They’re just wooden swords,” she reasoned half-heartedly. “You’re not actually gonna hurt me.”

Alternis remained lying in the snow. He turned his head to look away and his frown looked suspiciously like a pout. Edea wished he would just fight back, argue more, do anything more interesting than sit there like he always did. She thought they were past this boring part. She sighed loudly.

“I guess I’m too good to be your first opponent anyway,” she said as she hefted her leg over his body to stand upright. She reached out her hand to help him up. “We need to find you someone weaker as your first opponent.”

Alternis reached out and took her hand and Edea pulled him upright.

“Can’t I learn how to hold a sword first?” he asked.

“What’s there to know? You pick it up and you swing it,” Edea explained as she led them back into Central command. “Hey, you’re all wet. I bet they’ll give us some hot cocoa to warm us up.”

“You’re the one that pushed me into the snow,” Alternis muttered.

“And now we can get hot cocoa! That was always my plan.”

“I don’t like cocoa…”

Ahead of them Edea spied the tall and imposing figures of her father and Master Kamiizumi walking towards them. Her face lit up and she grabbed Alternis’ hand to drag him faster down the hall to meet them.

“Father!” Edea called. She hopped to a stop and Alternis yanked his had out of her grip.

“Edea…” her father said in his deep, critical voice. He paused when his eyes passed over to Alternis.  “Alternis, why are you soaking wet?”

Alternis’ face flushed. “I… fell in the snow,” he managed to answer.

Edea’s father seemed to accept the answer and turned back to Edea to move straight to his purpose. “Edea, Sword Master Kaimiizumi has decided it is time you began training the art of the sword. You will be under his tutelage until such a time that I can teach you the ways of the Templar.”

Edea’s eyes widened into saucers. Kamiizumi was the most respected general on the whole council and her father’s closest friend. He was the one who had shown Edea how to hold a sword, had taught her a handful of stances in passing and always had a comment on her fighting tactics when he caught her practicing. To finally be able to study under him was a dream come true. She had to stop herself from jumping up and down in excitement. She hastily remembered to bow, but she could not even attempt to conceal her wide grin. “It’s an honor, Master! Thank you!” She turned to Alternis to share her joy with him but saw his eyes trained solely on her father, his expression hard and disciplined. An idea washed over her and she realized she was about to become too busy to play with the only friend she had who wasn’t too busy for her.

“Father!” she said suddenly, turning back to the adults who stood before them. Her father’s brow shot to the top of his head. “May I request,” she began, hastily remembering who she was speaking to, “that Alternis train with me?”

Her father paused to consider this. “Hmm. I had other plans for Alternis,” he muttered.

Master Kamiizumi turned to him and spoke in a lower voice. “You had said Master Dim will not take him so young, isn’t that right? I see no harm in Edea having so reputable a classmate.”

“You would be willing to take on Alternis as well? I already ask much of you, friend.”

“I am not opposed,” Master Kamiizumi said with a smile.

Edea could have screamed in delight.

The two men turned to Edea and Alternis once more.

“Then it is as you wish, Edea. You and Alternis will begin your training with Master Kamiizumi on the morrow.”

“Thank you Father! Thank you Master!” She bowed again.

Her father and new master turned back and walked down the corridor before them, speaking quietly with each other.

Edea turned to Alternis, absolutely glowing. Alternis looked dumbfounded as he watched the men walk away.

* * *

The first time they sparred Alternis still didn’t fight back, but at least he didn’t drop his sword. His stance was solid, probably more solid that Edea’s, and his technique was clean. He looked better than her already and she’d had a head start. Edea was not deterred. She would be the greatest warrior of Eternia, even if she had to wait until her father trained her as a Templar for her to surpass Alternis. And Alternis needed to be good now; he was going to be her body guard. So far, his only problem was that he never went on the offensive. Edea thrust her sword towards him, each jab and slash deflected with ease, but she did not relent. She pushed him back, stepping forward with each strike so that Alternis had to take a step back to keep her from ramming into him. She quickly backed him up against the wall and he had to dodge away from her next attack. He rolled onto the floor, getting back up to his feet with an ease that spoke of too much practice. His sword was still firmly in hand and he stood and waited for Edea to attack again.

“One point can end the match, Alternis,” Master Kamiizumi said. He saw, as clearly as Edea did, that Alternis was going easy on her.

Alternis grimaced. He took an offensive stance at last and Edea shifted her own. If he was finally going to start attacking, she needed to be careful. He raised his sword above his head and rushed at her, an obvious slash attack to her head. Edea spun as she deflected the blade, then brought her own sword around and slammed it into his ribcage. Alternis dropped his sword and collapsed to the floor. Edea pointed her sword at his nose to pin him in place but her stance was weak. That opening had been too obvious and he was better than her. All the arrogance in the world couldn’t keep her from seeing how planned this outcome had been.

Even Master Kamiizumi sighed, but he didn’t reprimand Alternis. “An impressive counter, Edea,” he said instead. “Counters are your best weapon. No matter now big or strong your opponent, his attacks will leave openings.”

Edea lowered her sword and turned to bow to Master Kamiizumi. “Yes Master,” she said. She turned back to Alternis and held out her hand to help him up.

Alternis turned his head away to keep from looking up at her, but he reached out and let her help him to his feet. “Sorry,” he muttered to the ground.

Edea pulled him upright and then brushed off his sleeves with her hands as if they were covered in dust. “That was better than last time, I forgive you.”

Edea smiled at him and Alternis raised his gaze to look at her properly, even if he couldn’t bring himself to smile back. Close enough, she figured.

“Your tutors will be waiting, Miss Edea,” Master Kamiizumi said. “I will see you again this evening.”

Edea turned to him and they bowed together. “Thank you, Master,” she said. Then she turned and scampered out of the room, waving to Alternis as she left. “See you later, Alternis!”

Alternis watched her go, then turned back to Master Kamiizumi to bow.

“Young man,” he said, rather than return the gesture. “Do you understand why you train?”

Alternis paused, but stood upright. “To protect Edea,” he eventually answered.

“And why do you think Miss Edea trains?” Kamiizumi asked.

Alternis paused again. “To protect Eternia.”

“Yes, but in order to protect Eternia, she must first be able to protect herself.”

Alternis looked down at his feet.

“I know you understand the limits of your strength. You will not hurt her. But she must practice. This, in turn will help you to protect her in the future.”

Alternis frowned at the floor. “Yes Master.”

Kamiizumi approached Alternis and knelt beside him, placing his hand on Alternis’ shoulder. Alternis looked up and found his master’s expression had grown solemn.

“I want you to hold on to this feeling that makes you stay your hand,” he said softly. “Keep it close to your heart, write it down if you must. You must always remember what drives you to protect Miss Edea. I fear you will need it when you begin your training with Master Dim…”

Alternis nodded slowly. Master Kamiizumi stood and finally returned Alternis’ previous bow.

“I will see you for our evening session. Perhaps we shall try sparring again.”

Alternis bowed again. “Thank you Master,” he said quickly, then rushed out of the room.

* * *

“Steady…” Master Kamiizumi’s voice rang against the wooden walls of the dojo. “Do no give each other an inch…”

Edea and Alternis’ arms trembled. Their swords were crossed and they were pushing against each other. Their faces were close and their knees would sometimes bump, but neither took advantage over the other. Under normal circumstances when they would lock blades while sparring Alternis could easily over power Edea, but he confessed that it was harder to maintain a steady pressure than it was to simply push her off. Edea grumbled a nonsense curse under her breath as she shifted her weight. Alternis grunted at the effort of shifting his own to combat it. Edea felt her arms about to give out. Her whole body shook and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Release!” The master called out. “You may rest. You have three minutes.”

Edea and Alternis collapsed to the floor, their breathing ragged and heavy. They only let themselves lay there for a moment before they both scrambled to their feet together and raced to the water basin at the back of the room. Edea reached in with both hands and brought the water to her mouth, but mostly succeeded in getting it all over her face. Alternis skipped all pretense and dunked his head into the water. He pulled his head up with a gasp a moment later and Edea shoved his shoulder as she laughed at him.

“Hey, I’m trying to drink here, get your germs outta there!” she said.

Alternis smirked at her. “You snooze, you lose.” He shook his head to throw all the access water at her.

Edea laughed even as she squealed in dismay, bringing up her hands to shield her already wet face. She reached down with one hand and splashed the water in his direction to retaliate.

“Time’s up!” Master Kamiizumi shouted to them.

In an instant, Edea and Alternis raced back to the center of the room to stand straight at attention before their master.

“Edea. As your birthday has recently passed I was able to formally submit your application to join the ranks of the Sky Knights,” Master Kamiizumi said.

Edea could hardly contain herself. Her eyes widened in anticipation. She bit her lip to keep from smiling and her hands balled into tight fists at the hem of her skirt, her knuckles turning white. This was it, this is what she had been waiting for. A chance to prove herself to her father by proving herself to all of his commanding officers. She would complete the cadet training in less than five years and she would rise through the ranks to stand at her father’s side by her own merits. She swore this to herself every day she saw her father’s face and watched his eyes pass over her without notice.

“On my recommendation,” their master continued, “You have been admitted to the rank of cadet. It is your duty, as daughter of the grand marshal, to perform as dutifully on the field as you have performed for me. Do you understand this, Edea?”

“Yes Master!” she practically barked. She had to keep her words short lest she let her excitement overwhelm her.

“Your training begins the start of next week. You will devote yourself to their training in the mornings, your tutors in the evenings, and myself at night. Your life will become the pursuit of bettering yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes Master!” she shouted again. Now she could not contain her grin, nor could she resist bouncing up and down on her toes.

“Good. Fifty pushups from each of you. Then you are free to rest for the night.”

“Thank you, master,” Edea and Alternis replied in unison with a deep bow. Then they dropped to the floor to begin their last assignment of the day. Pushups after guard training was usually grueling, but Edea’s body felt light. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling even as her arms quivered from overwork. Alternis was silent, keeping his eyes forward through all fifty of their pushups. Even as they finished and finally dragged themselves to their feet, he kept his eyes trained down towards the floor. Edea, however, was too ecstatic to notice.

“Can you believe it?” she squealed as they walked out into the corridor and up towards their rooms. Edea practically bouncing off the walls, swinging her arms with large movements even after the hard training Master Kamiizumi had put them through that day. And no wonder he had been hard on them that day! It must have been one last hurrah before Edea’s time and devotion became divided. “The Sky Knights, finally! I’ve been ready for this for years! I bet I can get through cadet training in three years, but four wouldn’t be half bad either. Then I take a few years to make a name for myself and rise in the ranks, add on a couple more for some of those old guys to retire and bam! I’m on the council by the time I’m twenty! Won’t that be amazing? And you can’t be far behind, I’m sure you’ll get through the cadet ranks in two years at the most. We’ll be unstoppable!”

Alternis didn’t respond, but Edea didn’t let that deter her. She sighed dreamily and continued speaking on what she had heard about the cadet training from Einheria. Einheria had almost completed cadet training, over a year early which was how Edea knew it was possible, and she had assured Edea that it would be a breeze after training so much with Master Kamiizumi. Still Alternis didn’t speak and still his eyes were trained to the floor. Eventually they stopped just outside of Edea’s room. He always walked her to her room, even though his own room was several doors before hers in the hall.

“This is going to be so great, Alternis. We’re gonna take the Sky Knights by storm!” Edea said with a gleeful laugh. She opened the door to her bedroom and turned to wave him goodnight.

At last, Alternis looked up at her.

“Edea,” he said, his voice dangerously soft.

Edea’s smile faltered and she took her hand off the door knob, letting the door slowly swing inward on its own. “What is it, Alternis?” she asked, her voice suddenly wavering in worry.

“I won’t be joining the Sky Knights with you,” he finally said after an agonizing silence. “The Grand Marshal is having me train under Master Dim, the… Dark knight.”

Edea felt her heart stop. The men trained as dark knights were formidable soldiers, but that was mostly due to the fact that they ignored pain and embraced death. It was the only rank in the army that permitted convicted criminals for the sole reason that to accept a mission as a Dark Knight was suicide. Highly respected as the rank may be, no one ever lived long enough to truly reap the rewards other than the Asterisk himself, Master Dim. Edea felt her eyes already beginning to water.

“No,” Edea whispered. She swallowed and found her voice once more. “No, Dark Knight, that’s… That’s insanity! You’ll die! How are you supposed to protect me if your dead!?” she demanded. She rushed up to Alternis and took his shirt into her hands, gripping the sweaty fabric in tight fists. “I won’t let this happen! I’ll talk to my father, I’ll…!”

Alternis put his hands over Edea’s and loosened her grip with his thumb, bringing her hands down but not letting them go.

“Edea,” he said, still speaking softly to her, “I won’t die. I’ll always be here to protect you.”

Edea stared at him, holding back tears, biting her lip so hard she worried it might bleed, her hands still in fists. Why? Why now? He was the only one who could always spare time for her. She would be bored and alone all the time now! She finally looked down and squeezed her eyes shut. Warriors didn’t cry!

“It’s not fair,” she choked out. “We’ve been together all this time and now they separate us?”

“The Grand Marshal wants me to become as strong as possible,” Alternis tried to explain.

That made Edea look up, a fire igniting in her eyes. “My father!” she scoffed. “My father never thinks about the price of his actions! That he would so willingly throw your life away…”

“Don’t disrespect the Grand Marshal,” Alternis said, his voice suddenly hard.

Edea jumped, shocked out of her anger. Alternis never raised his voice, and certainly never at her. Not without a smirk, anyway. But his face always grew hard around her father, like a mask of perfect discipline. Alternis’ respect for him went beyond simple respect of authority. It was no wonder, Edea reminded herself. Her father had saved Alternis’ life. He owed her father all the obedience in the world. She grimaced and looked down to the ground once more. “I know. And I know he trusts your abilities. I’m sure you’ll make a fine Dark Knight,” she made herself say. She pulled her hands away and turned back to walk into her room, closing the door slowly behind her. When the latch clicked she sighed deeply and leaned her back against the door.

Alternis said nothing. After several long moments, Edea finally heard his footsteps head down the hall back to his own room.

A warrior didn’t cry. Well, Edea supposed, she was barely even a cadet yet. 

* * *

 

Edea didn’t get the chance to speak to Alternis again before he was whisked away to train with the Dark Knight master. Her father insisted that, due to the nature of the training, Alternis would need to live in solitude with his master. Whatever that meant. She only got one last glance at him before her father lead him away down the hall with an old, rough looking man who must have been Master Dim. She had attempted to follow them, but one stern look from her father made her stop in her tracks. She almost stomped her foot in frustration. Instead she called out.

“You better train your butt off, Alternis! Because I’m gonna do my best to be better than you by the time you get back!”

Alternis turned his head around to look at her as he was ushered away, but he never got the chance to respond. When they had disappeared around the corner, Edea stormed off toward the dojo to run through all of her sword forms ten times each. Master Kamiizumi was present, but he only sat at the front of the room and watched her. She wasn’t supposed to be training that day, after all.

The week swiftly rolled into the next and it was Edea’s turn to be whisked away by Master Kamiizumi to the cadet training grounds. Since Edea already lived in central command, she wouldn’t be making use of the barracks. But that essentially only meant she had to wake up twenty minutes earlier than everyone else.

Training with the cadets wasn’t easy necessarily, but it certainly wasn’t as hard as training with Master Kamiizumi. Einheria sought Edea out when the cadets were released for lunch and she found her a great deal more chipper than the rest of her initiates. Edea stood to embrace her friend when she approached.

“Einheria! You’re not too cool for me here, are you?” Edea asked with a laugh. They sat down together at the end of one of the long tables set up that ran the length of the mess hall.

“Too cool for the princess of Eternia? Hardly,” Einheria replied with a chuckle.

“It’s a good thing you’re nearly a full-fledged sky knight, or I might be too cool for you.”

“I might be a great deal more than just a sky knight before too long,” Einheria admitted.

“What’s happened?” Edea asked, leaning over the table to get closer to her friend.

“I’ve actually been training as a valkyrie. The Asterisk has taken a special interest in me, apparently.”

“The Asterisk!” Edea breathed, sitting back. “Now you really will be too cool for me.”

“No such thing,” Einheria said dismissively with a wave of her hand. “But the Asterisk has told me that she feels like she’s getting old. She wants to find someone young to pass on the title too, and I hear I’m her best candidate.”

“Oh wow, I am going to be friends with the Valkyrie Asterisk,” Edea said, her voice light with wonder.

Einheria laughed. “Yeah, because that’s an impressive feat compared to who I’m friends with.”

Edea giggled too. “Alright, but you have to give me advice on skipping ahead. You’re following my life plan better than I am!”

“Your application came with a special recommendation from the Sword Master himself, you don’t need my help,” she scoffed. “Speaking of recommendations, where’s that brother of yours? Alternis was it? I thought you were training together, I can’t believe the Sword Master would recommend you and not him.”

Edea’s smile fell and she looked down at the table to her mediocre lunch. She picked at it absently with her fork. “Alternis is… training with someone else,” she said quietly after a moment. She stabbed her potatoes a little more fiercely and added, “My father apparently has special plans for him.”

“The Grand Marshal?” Einheria asked. “He’s not training Alternis himself, is he? The Templar Asterisk is meant for you.”

Edea sighed. She made herself put down her fork and mentally chided herself. Alternis would be upset to know she was still frustrated with her father’s plans. “No, it’s nothing like that. Father has sent him to train with the Dark Knight Master Dim.”

That made Einheria pause. “The Dark Knight?” She leaned forward on the table, putting her chin on her palm and spreading her fingers over her lips. “We still train Dark Knights?”

“Apparently,” Edea answered. “No skill set can afford to fall into obscurity and all that.”

Einheria barked a bitter laugh. She sat upright once more and shook her head. “Dark Knight certainly could. No one deserves to be put through that training.”

“You know what it’s like?” Edea asked eagerly.

Einheria hesitated. She glanced away and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve heard rumors… Nothing concrete. Or believable, for that matter.”

Edea buried her face in her hands. “Ugh, poor Alternis! I just hope he’s okay, wherever they took him…”

Einheria reached across the table to put her hand on Edea’s shoulder. “Hey. That kid’s tough. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Edea tossed her head back dramatically. Worrying about Alternis was more exhausting than early morning training. “That moron doesn’t know how to complain, he’ll deal and come out on top as usual.”

Edea was just frustrated that they were making him do it. Wasn’t this what her father had saved him from?

* * *

With Einheria using her free time to train with the Valkyrie and Alternis nowhere to be found, Edea found her free time and her study time sadly lacking in distractions. Well, her reading on Eternian history wasn’t going to avoid itself. She took her book into her room, bringing along a snack to make it look like she would stay put, and deposited both on her desk. Then she promptly turned around and got down on her hands and knees to crawl under her bed.

The floor was dustier than it had been the last time she had used her secret passage. But then, she hadn’t needed to use it in a long time. She was always so busy training with Master Kamiizumi and Alternis that she didn’t have the time, or even the desire, to sneak off without notice. But now her friends were too busy for her once again and so she returned to her age old habit of sneaking out of central command through the secret door in her room under the bed. The hardest part was getting to the door itself, she knew the layout of the furniture was on purpose to best conceal but still give access to the door. It had been easier when she was younger, but Edea had shot up in height recently and now her back and the top of her head scraped along the bottom of her mattress as she crawled beneath it. She lifted the bed skirt at the wall to reveal the latch and pulled it open. A cloud of dust was kicked up with it and she coughed and waved her hand to dispel the cloud. Edea wasn’t looking forward to the dust and cobwebs she knew she’d find in the narrow walkway. The path was always a bigger mess than under her bed, even when she had been sneaking through it on a regular basis.

She covered her nose with her hand as she walked and she weaved her head back and forth to dodge the webs. She couldn’t quite walk with her shoulders square without brushing them against the walls, so she walked with her torso turned slightly to the side. She held one hand out in front of her as she walked to navigate in the darkness. There weren’t any forks in the path, so she wouldn’t get lost, but she’d rather not run into the wall when the switchbacks leading down began. After a few minutes of walking and a number of flights of stairs, Edea saw the dim light of the exit.

The exit door led her under a table in a room of the dungeon. The dungeon itself would be empty. It wasn’t used much outside of a full scale war and Eternia was content to build its defenses for the most part. The latch on the door was tougher to open than her own. The air in the dungeon was damp and it threatened to rust the door shut. It was a slow rust, however, and with a bit of force the latch eventually gave way and Edea pushed the door open and crawled out into the dimly lit room.

There was a shuffle of feet and an intake of breath as Edea crawled out. She paused at the noise and crawled out from under the table slowly and silently. From under the table she saw bare feet and loose fitting pants that were caked in dirt at the hem. They were poised far apart and still. Edea moved slowly forward and peaked upward.

“Alternis?”

“Edea?” He looked as confused as she felt. “What are you…”

Edea looked him up and down with wide eyes. His chest was bare, but his slim torso was not an unfamiliar sight. What was unfamiliar were the bruises, welts and long cuts that ran around his sides, the gashes only getting deeper as they disappeared around his back. His lip was swollen, his eye was black and blue and she was pretty sure his nose hadn’t been that shape before.

Her mouth worked silently and her eyes didn’t stray from his face as Edea slowly rose to her feet, her limbs shaking with shock. “Alternis…” she finally whispered when she was upright, but it was all she could manage.

Alternis turned his head away, his cheeks flushing in shame. “You shouldn’t be here,” he mumbled, his voice hoarse.

Edea took a tentative step forward and then, when he didn’t back away, rushed up to him. Her hands practically flailed as she searched for some place to touch him that wouldn’t hurt and found nothing. “What are they doing to you?” She demanded, finding her voice at last. “What kind of sick joke is this?!”

Alternis took her hands and lowered them. He still couldn’t look her in the eye. “It’s part of the training. I have to improve my pain tolerance.”

“So you let them torture you? You just lie down and take it?”

“The exposure nullifies the fear,” he explained. His voice was low and calm as if he were reading facts from a book. “I learn to draw strength from the pain instead.”

“That’s bullshit!” she exclaimed.

“It’s the way of the Dark Knight.”

“Dark Knights are bullshit!”

“Edea!” The harshness of his voice cut through Edea like a sharp blade. She stopped and stared at him, his eyes finally meeting hers. They were hard and emotionless, just as they had been when Edea had first met him.

“This is the role the Grand Marshal has given me and I will fulfill it with pride,” he said. He kept his voice low, but it simmered with an anger beneath it that terrified Edea. “I have endured much of your antics, but insulting my duty is not something I will tolerate. I told you I would return, that will have to be enough for you.”

Edea tried so hard to hold his gaze, but the fire in his eyes, the fury in his voice, and his grip on her hands, it was too much. She had never truly angered Alternis this much and now she found that she couldn’t handle it. She dropped her eyes, frustrated and ashamed of herself. And yet she was still sure she was in the right.

“Sorry,” she mumbled anyway.

Alternis let go of her hands and she let her hands fall limp at her sides.

“And you’re sure you’ll be okay?” she asked, kicking at the dirt with her feet to feign nonchalance.

“A healer comes in the evening. I get to sleep in peace, at least.”

“That’s good…”

“Edea…” Alternis began, and then stopped himself. He was silent for just a moment before he decided on something else to say. “If Master Dim finds you here we’ll both be punished.”

“Right.” She turned away and took small, slow steps back to the table she had come from. “Sorry, again. I didn’t actually expect to find you here…” She grabbed the edge of the table to keep her balance as she knelt down.

“Two years!” Alternis suddenly said

Edea paused, her knees already on the floor. Slowly she turned around to look up at Alternis. His expression had softened and it was no longer terrifying.

“I’d finish in two years you said, right? I’ll do it. I intend to take the Asterisk, by force if I have to. I’ll have it in two years and come back to you.”

Edea sat on her knees and stared at him. There were no words. She didn’t even deserve such devotion after all of the horrible things she had said and thought about his path. Even after seeing his conviction and self-confidence, his insane dedication to her father’s orders, she still thought the path of the Dark Knight was pointless suffering. But if anyone could do it, if anyone could go through with the harsh training and come out a better man, it was Alternis. She understood that now, could read it in his expression and devotion. Edea clenched her jaw. It was true, there were no words. All that was left was acceptance. All she could do was accept and believe in him. And when she finally nodded, a small, slow tilt of her head, she saw in his eyes that it was all he had wanted.

Dazed, Edea crawled through the opening under the table, closed the trap door and began her trek back up the dark stairs to her bedroom. As she ascended the stairs the tears came. She couldn’t explain where they came from. It was not something she could piece together in a way anyone else would understand. The only thing she really understood in that moment was that she had seen the last of her friend who she had once thought of as a brother. However the training changed him, even if it strengthened him or made him better somehow, the Dark Knight would not be the same as the Alternis she knew. 

* * *

Edea had borrowed a book from the archive on Dark Knights and their history and values, but she couldn’t bring herself to read it. She would open it, read one sentence, and then she would remember the bruises and cuts covering Alternis’ body and close it again. She just couldn’t bare it. If she learned any more unsavory facts about the Dark Knight Asterisk, Edea thought she might storm right back down to the dungeon and order the master beheaded for war crimes. It was bad enough she felt like she couldn’t trust that Alternis would survive, if she learned much more about his new profession, she might start to feel like she couldn’t trust him at all. It wasn’t fair to him. She had trusted him so fully before, she hated the feeling of that trust waning.

Edea spent most of her increasingly rare free afternoons visiting her mother in the hospital. Her mother was always in high spirits when she came to visit, Edea could almost forget that her health was ever in danger. It certainly helped to be in the healing tower. They always lost track of time while they talked, even if it was mostly about Edea’s training with the sky knights and Sword Master Kamiizumi. Edea would often ask her mother what she had heard of the council from her father and the nurses had their own string of gossip to keep up with. They both reveled in it all, finding plenty of things to laugh about no matter the subject. The only subject they hadn’t breached recently was Alternis.

“Your father keeps telling me he’ll feel much more at ease with council discussions when he gets a second member he can trust with his life,” her mother said with a shake of her head. “I’m not sure where he even expected to find this miracle member.”

“It makes me wonder if he will be relieved or even more concerned by my own presence on the council,” Edea giggled.

“Heavens, even my presence I can’t be sure about. the only person I can think of that would absolutely put your father at ease is Alternis.”

Edea’s face fell before she could even think about it. Her mother winced.

“I’m sorry darling. I know you miss him,” she said in a soft voice that could not be overheard.

“I wish that was all it was,” Edea said with a sigh.

Her mother leaned in closer to listen. “What’s troubling you?”

Edea looked down at the hands in her lap. “It’s the… Dark Knight. Just, everything about it.” She remembered Alternis regarding her with those cold eyes and squeezed her eyes shut at the memory. But beneath her eye lids were just images of the long cuts that must have covered his back. “Even when his training is over I’m just so… scared. Scared he won’t be Alternis anymore.”

Her mother reached out a hand to gently squeeze Edea’s shoulder.

“Your father put Alternis on the path to becoming a Dark Knight because he knew Alternis was strong enough to overcome any obstacle. The strength he’ll find on his path will be just what he needs to grow into a fine gentleman,” she said, a smile spread across her face.

 Edea tried to smile for her mother but it came out awkwardly. She couldn’t even hold her gaze and she let her eyes drop. “Then maybe I never really knew him in the first place” she muttered.

* * *

Edea let herself despair at losing the Alternis she had known for another week, but it was getting her nowhere. She couldn’t even channel her frustration into her training. So she discarded it. She pushed all thoughts of Alternis aside and threw herself into her training to replace them. She made new friends in her cadet class, actually focused on her reading for military tactics and history, and if her mind sought to wonder about Alternis, she would swiftly take up her sword and run through her forms. She fought off her melancholy with sweat and, after several months, she did not even need to fight so hard. Her father seemed to take less notice of her, but that just meant she was spared his disapproving gaze that caught every mistake. Progress. Things were finally improving after thinking she had lost everything. She was fine, and Alternis could bugger off and get himself killed for all she cared. She had her own ambitions to see to.

Two years seemed to pass in an instant. Edea trained every day. Even on her off days she found something productive to occupy most of her time. Obviously she made time to go out for shakes with the girls on a regular basis and to have a chat with her mother, but she kept herself busy and enjoyed herself. She deemed herself to have completely and utterly moved on.

Which was why it hit like a sack of bricks to see a young man clad in full Dark Knight armor, complete with the black helmet that covered the man’s face.

Edea stopped in her tracks, her mouth open mid-sentence. Her cadet friends stopped as well to look at her curiously just a few steps ahead.

“Edea?” One of the girls said. “Is your house haunted or something? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Alternis?” she breathed. She moved one hesitant step in his direction before taking off down the hall at a full sprint. “Alternis!” she shouted.

The man stopped and turned to look at her. He stood tall and his posture was impassive. He didn’t move to remove his helmet, but he waited for her to catch up to him.

Edea had to skid to a halt. She looked up at him with a large grin, already out of breath from running. “It is you, isn’t it?” She asked, laughing in delight. “You really did do it in two years! The armor looks good on you, I should have known. When did you get back?” Her words rushed out a mile a minute and she wanted to ask him all of her questions right then and there. She also wanted desperately to try sparing him, but she figured pleasantries should come first before she challenged him.

Alternis, for she had to assume it could only be him, stared at her in silence. She couldn’t see his expression past the glass of his helmet and his stance gave away nothing of his thoughts. Edea hesitated. She had never been the best at reading Alternis, but she had always had an idea before. Now she was afraid she wasn’t even speaking to the right person. She reached out her hand tentatively to touch his shoulder and he flinched back. Her stomach suddenly felt like lead.

“My apologies,” he finally said, an odd strain to his voice. That voice, at least, was unmistakable, even when muffled by his mask. “I’ve only just returned. I must report to the Grand Marshal.” He turned back and continued swiftly down the hall away from her. His hands were suddenly tight fists and, now that Edea really looked at them, the gauntlets looked like they were stained with something. Mud, perhaps?

Edea watched him go. A part of her longed to shout after him, to call him some silly name and poke fun at his bad manners. But his voice and that flinch held her back. All of her fears about losing Alternis, whether it be his life or his friendship, came rushing back at her at once, leaving her mind and heart hollow. As he marched down the hall away from her she knew her worst fears were coming true.

* * *

Edea’s father was in high spirits. His expression was neutral rather than hardened into a scowl, even as he spoke with her about how her training was progressing. Edea had nothing but stellar news to report; top of her class, poised to be promoted well before her peers, a perfect candidate for the Templar class. But these were things that were expected. What truly had her father’s attention was Alternis and she knew it. Presently they were walking together to the healing tower to visit her mother. It was rare for them to all gather at the healing tower to see her, but her father claimed he’d wanted to speak with both of them without having to wait for permission from the hospital. If it were about Alternis, which it undoubtedly was, Edea wasn’t sure why her father insisted on her presence as well.  But she obliged, mostly because one did not turn down the Grand Marshal, but also because it was a chance to be with her mother and father at the same time. That was an opportunity she could never pass up.

Her mother, of course, was ecstatic to see both of them come in together. But even she seemed more excited than usual. She stood to meet them when they came into her spacious room in the healing tower and she welcomed them inside with a wide smile and open arms. Edea rushed ahead of her father to embrace her. Her father walked up and planted a kiss to the top of her mother’s head.

“How are you, my dear?” Her father asked in a softer voice than usual. This was the only time he sounded anything other than harsh and commanding. It was one of the reasons Edea loved to spend time with both of her parents together.

“Nearly as right as rain,” her mother said, leading them to the small circular table set up at the side of the room. “It’s so good to have us all together again.”

“Yes, and soon we can begin our campaign against the Crystalists in earnest,” Her father said. He let loose a satisfied sigh. “It’s a relief to see so much preparation finally bearing fruit.”

Edea perked up. “So the war will begin soon?” she asked. “I hope you’ll let me stand on the front lines of your life’s work father.”

“All in good time, Edea,” her father assured her. His lips were curved just the smallest bit upward, as large a smile as Edea had ever seen on him. “This campaign must be slow and subtle at the start. I will see the world united against this threat.”

Edea’s chest swelled with pride. She would be a part of the charge that finally ended the Crystalists. In fact, she aimed to lead it herself. If the campaign was beginning already, she knew she had to get through training as fast as possible.

Her mother chuckled softly into her hand. “Well I am relieved Alternis is above ground with us once again. It was too long without him.”

Her father nodded in agreement.

Edea almost flinched. She hadn’t seen him since the day before when he had brushed her off so curtly. And she was nervous to try approaching him again, a fact which embarrassed her to no end.

“News travels fast then,” Edea said, rather than comment on her feelings on the matter. “Who did you hear it from?”

“Right from the source of course,” her mother answered. “He dropped by to say hello to me yesterday.”

“He what?!” Edea asked, her voice loud with incredulity. He’d deigned to travel out to the healing tower to visit her mother, but he couldn’t be bothered to visit Edea who lived in Central Command itself? The nerve of the man!

Her mother laughed. “That was just before he was dragged away by a retinue of nurses larger than my own,” she admitted.

“The rigors of the final Dark Knight test are intense to say the least. He will be sentenced to bed rest for a few weeks I expect,” her father explained.

“I imagine he would not be so worse for wear if he had been brought straight to the healing tower,” her mother said with a side long look at her father.

“He is a child of protocol,” her father said with a small chuckle of his own. “I must hear of it when an Asterisk is passed on.”

“So he is the new Asterisk of the Dark Knight?” Edea asked.

“It is so. He knew I would not let him halt his training for anything less.”

Edea felt her skin breakout in gooseflesh. There was something terribly ominous about the statement, and about the whole of the situation between Alternis and the Dark Knight. No wonder he had been so adamant two years ago about taking the Asterisk. Edea wondered how much of that conviction had been for himself and how much had been for her father. And if any of it was for her sake as well.

“He has always been formidable,” Edea made herself say, trying to conceal the tremor in her voice. “It’s no wonder you would entrust such a task to him.”

“I have set my standards of Alternis high and he has answered every one,” her father said, looking proud. “I know I can trust the man with my life and I hope to trust him with more.”

Edea tilted her head in slight confusion. Across the table, her mother was watching him expectantly. Edea was afraid to ask what he meant. She almost didn’t.

“More, Father?”

Her father hummed. “You are yet young, Edea. I’m sure it will come to pass naturally enough in due time.”

Dread washed over her. What was he insinuating? Wild theories raced through her mind, none of them good. His successor? The leader of the war charge? Bringing home another young child to be groomed into a Dark Knight?

“Braev, you mustn’t tease her so,” her mother said. “Edea is fond enough of Alternis, there is no harm in telling her now.”

Edea’s gaze quickly shifted to her mother. “What about Alternis? What is going on?”

Edea’s father hesitated for a moment. Edea had never seen that happen before. “Alternis has proven himself to be a stalwart young man. I can think of no one else more worthy to welcome into this family as a son.”

Edea paused. Hadn’t they already done that? “But we-“ she cut herself short when she saw it. She saw it in the expression on her mother’s face, almost bitter sweet but proud all the same. She saw it in the way her father had hesitated and danced around the subject. And she saw it in the fact that her father had brought the three of them together to tell her.

The realization must have been plain on her face. She wasn’t sure what it looked like, but her father was apparently satisfied.

“Once Alternis has recovered he will take his seat on the council beside me. You will complete your cadet training and assist in the campaign against the Crystalists.  I’m sure in that time you will gain a great deal of renown and respect from the people. In celebration of the defeat of the Crystalists, you will be wed.” His voice had taken on a clinical toughness, as if distancing himself from the plans.

“Alternis has been such a blessing to our family, I can’t imagine accepting anyone less worthy of my little Sky Knight,” her mother added

Edea sat silently dumbfounded. Of course, as the daughter of the Grand Marshal she had expected her parents to choose suitors for her. She certainly hadn’t developed any relevant interests to care either way and so she had long come to terms with the idea of marrying a man she hardly knew on her parents’ orders. She just hadn’t anticipated growing up with him. What she felt for Alternis… How could they expect her to call it love when she had no idea what that was?  She didn’t even know if they were friends anymore. The end of Crystalism never looked so perilous before.

Edea made herself laugh, but it was a hollow sound. “I imagine it will be a hundred years before someone can match Alternis. Does… he know about this?”

“I made it clear to him since the very beginning that his future was tied closely with yours,” her father answered. “I am confident that the two of you will make Eternia into a force to be reckoned with.”

“Of course,” Edea answered automatically. She could never go against her father before, what made her think she could start doubting him now?

* * *

Eiheria was made the Asterisk of the Valkyrie and had been placed into a squad of two others recently granted an Asterisk that would answer to the Red Mage DeRosa. Einheria could not speak for the Red Mage Asterisk, but she had been training with the other girls in her squad for some time and had become quite close with them. Edea thought them both a tad odd, but the deference they showed to Einheria put her heart at ease. Her friend would be in good company when she was soon deployed.

Her commanding officer, the red mage DeRosa, was with the Council of Six receiving his orders and Einheria and Edea waited together outside the council chamber speaking excitedly. Einheria thought herself ill-suited to espionage and subtlety and Edea assured her that if they had wanted subtlety, then a Valkyrie would have been the last person they called. 

The two of them were talking animatedly together, Edea describing what she had overheard her commanders say about the beginning campaign against Crystalism. Einheria was eager to share notes and theories on how the conquest would progress as she would soon be participating in the campaign herself with these orders.

The door opened while they were speaking and Einheria only glanced over to check that the man who emerged was not clad ostentatiously in red. On the contrary, the person who strode through the door was in black from head to toe. Edea’s heart raced and her shoulders tensed so fiercely they shook. Alternis paused for only a moment as the door shut behind him before he turned down the hall, his stride as long and purposeful as ever.

Edea kept her gaze firmly planted on Einheria, but her words still faltered when she saw him out of the corner of her eye. She powered through her sentence, not even aware if she was saying what she meant anymore. A flurry of emotions ripped through her. There was dread at being seen and guilt and appearing fine when the very thought of him actually sent her reeling. There was the anticipation of finally having a conversation mixed with the fear of discovering just how different a person he had become. And now, on top of everything else, confusion about how she should view him laced her every thought. It was this blasted betrothal nonsense, it was making everything even more complicated than it already was.

Einheria held her gaze for the most part, but she glanced over at Alternis several times before he disappeared down the hall. When he was finally out of ear shot Edea looked down and clamped her mouth shut. Her sentence had been devolving into nonsense anyway.

“Edea…” Einheria said softly, placing a hand gingerly on her shoulder.

Edea sighed loudly, her breath coming out ragged with frustration. “It’s fine. I’m fine,” she said quickly.

“I don’t believe that for a second. You don’t even believe it,” Einheria insisted. “What’s happened?”

Edea barked a laugh. “Nothing! Nothing’s happened. But that is precisely the problem, now isn’t it?”

Einheria didn’t answer, she simply squeezed Edea’s shoulder.

Edea bit her lip. “I don’t even know. I keep waiting for him to be the Alternis I remember but…” Her voice fell to barely a whisper, “He won’t even look at me now.”

“He is young for a Dark Knight. The training would be harder on him than usual,” Einheria mused.

An intense anger rose unbidden within her at that comment and Edea crossed her arms in front of her chest with a scowl. “The Dark Knight. It always comes back to that damnable Dark Knight.” She took a deep breath to banish her confusion and despair, if only from her face. “Well fine!” she said with sudden ferocity. “I’ll just get over him again. I’ve done it before, I can easily do it again.”

Einheria looked at her silently for a moment more before closing her eyes and releasing Edea’s shoulder. “I suppose you’re right.” When she opened her eyes, her expression was neutral once more. “Your spirit is one of the things I love about you, Edea.”

Edea grinned and placed her hands on her hips so she could puff out her chest. The show was as much for Einheria as it was for herself.

* * *

The campaign against Crystalism began in earnest and Alternis was sent away from Central Command often. Edea only heard his named mentioned sparingly so throwing herself into her training worked to keep him off her mind again. She was promoted to the rank of Sky Knight a year early as she had predicted and then all she needed was the perfect first mission.

Capturing the Wind Vestal was exactly that mission.

* * *

 

The first time she laid eyes on Ringabell, she hadn’t even thought to make the comparison. Certainly he was pale enough to be Eternian, but he was frivolous and talkative. The two things Alternis never was. Not to mention his hair was neatly styled. Last time Edea had seen Alternis, his hair was still messy mop of blonde, so the two of them did not even look alike to her.

What confused her was the journal. After Alternis had grounded them, Edea had gotten curious (and bored from the longer journey) and began reading through the earlier journal entries that Ringabell didn’t need to reference anymore. It was written by a Sky Knight, of that she had no doubt. What really perplexed her were the entries about herself. Someone higher up in the ranks seemed to think an awful lot of her and there were only so many high ranking officials she was even friendly with. Fewer still who were given command of their own airship. Only one whose vessel was named the Eschalot. The journal, at least, had to belong to Alternis. That was when the comparisons between the two really began.

Because when Edea really looked at him, when she watched his face while he thought no one was looking, she recognized his expression. She recognized all too well his hard eyes and the creases between his brows. In the morning, before Edea normally got out of bed, his hair was still a messy mop on his head. There was the curious case of his accent, but even that fell away when he was deep in thought or sleep-talking. But how could he be so similar to Alternis? This was beyond a likeness between long lost siblings. None of the others really knew who Alternis was beyond the Dark Knight Who Broke Their Airship and so Edea kept her mouth shut on the matter. This was her mystery to ponder while her companions worried about the crystals.

When Alternis’ mask came off, Edea saw the face of her friend for the first time in over four years. It was Ringabell’s face, there for everyone to see. The others sought to mention it, but Ringabell ignored the idea until his memory started coming back. Still, the revelation meant little to the others. Suddenly no one knew Ringabell as well as Edea did and what she knew was a sorry amount indeed.

Edea continued to treat Ringabell as she always had mostly out of habit, but also because thinking of him as Alternis terrified her. The Alternis she knew was cold, a tool whose only purpose was to please her father, an imposing shadow of everything Edea wasn’t. Even if they were betrothed, even if the words in that journal were his true feelings, Alternis was no longer a friend to Edea. She didn’t want to lose Ringabell in the same way.

As they stood together on the bridge of Grandship, poised at the edge of the pillar of light that would take Ringabell to his own world, Edea thought back to all she had seen and experienced with Ringabell. He had been a whole new side to Alternis that he himself probably had no idea he possessed. In truth, it made her a little sad. Why hadn’t she been able to share this kind of adventure with the Alternis she grew up with? What kind of future could they have had together if only they had been able to talk to each other as freely as Edea and Ringabell had?

“Take care of yourself, Ringabell,” Tiz said, a wistful smile on his face.

“Thank you so much for everything,” Agnès added. “We truly would have been lost without you.”

“It was both an honor and a privilege, my dear Agnès,” Ringabell replied with a flourish and a bow.

Everyone looked to Edea suddenly. Her face flushed lightly.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Get your butt through that portal so you can save your friends this time,” she said, hands on her hips.

Ringabell smiled. “As you wish, my angel.”

He turned to go. Edea realized that wasn’t what she had actually wanted to tell him.

“Ringabell!” she shouted one last time.

He turned to glance curiously at her.

Edea swallowed the lump in her throat. “Talk to her,” she finally said. “I think that’s all I ever really wanted…”

Ringabell smiled softly, just like how Alternis used to. “You’ve saved my life once again, Lady Edea. I won’t waste it this time.”

He continued into his airship and the three friends watched as his vessel was swallowed by the light. They remained as the light faded, watching the pillar grow smaller and smaller until finally the portals between the worlds were closed.           

Edea had finally lost Alternis for good. This time, she wasn’t sure she would recover.

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE YOU GOTTA DO IT YOURSELF. Hope you guys like Edea and Alternis as much as I do. (Wow it is exceedingly obvious how much I just wanted to get this thing over with by the end.)  
> Anyway, that's enough putting up with my garbage. Thanks for reading!


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